Exhibition: ‘3 for 2’. New paintings by Jing Ma and Min Zhao. 20th to 30th October

‘3 for 2’ is a performative and collaborative project that is created by Jing Ma and Min Zhao who have recently obtained their Bachelor’s degrees from the Slade school of Fine Art. The whole basement gallery will be transformed into a pilot art sale.

In the market of goods and trades, artworks are a very special range of ‘products’. They are special in two ways: first of all they are all one offs, and are uniquely created by the artist; and second, art is objective. Artworks are different from other products like bread and carrots. A piece of art may be purchased for various reasons: collectors may buy artworks for its potential market value; some others buy arts for decoration purposes, for example, it matches the interior design of their living rooms.

Artists, like businessmen in any other sectors, may try to sell their arts at a price as high as possible. In contrast, most buyers want to own a piece of art but spend as little money as possible, wishing for ‘discounts’ if two or more pieces are purchased together.

The core question embedded in this exhibition is how would you value a piece of art? Does the price of an artwork fully represent the meaning of art? Jing and Min are trying to initiate a discussion on how to position yourself and your artworks in the art market as an artist.

Above: work by Jing Ma; Below: work by Min Zhao

Jing Ma:

Jing Ma comes from a business oriented family in China. She has recently graduated from the Slade school of Fine Art and is currently living and working in London. She is interested in working with landscapes and natural forms. The subject matter has an important role in her practices.

Jing borrowed these forms as a metaphorical vehicle to carry her expressions. The artist wants the audiences to evident the physicality and energy involves in her works. She believes that each brushstroke should maintain simple and keeps its own individuality.

Min Zhao:

As a young Chinese artist, Min Zhao was born and raised up in Ningxia – a Hui autonomous region that located in Northwest China. The most prominent experience reflected in her work was her desire to reclaim her original culture; it is a compound of Mongolian, Tibetan and Islamic culture.

Often the inspiration comes from different natural landscape and its culture, particularly the Silk Road Culture and the Yellow River Culture which she has deep personal attachment. They are over-familiarized places that she is re-encountering after some distance.